Team: Division of Other Transactions Management (DOTM)

Functional Area: Other Transactions

Programs: Generalist Repository Ecosystem initiative (GREi); Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADX)

Sue Starek joined the Office of the Strategic Coordination (OSC) within the Division of Other Transactions Management (DOTM) as an Other Transaction Agreements Specialist in July 2023. Prior to joining NIH, Ms. Starek was a Contracting Officer/Contract Specialist at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Army Contracting Command (ACC) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA). She received her Master of Science in Management (M.S.M) specialized in Acquisition and Contract Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

Team: Strategic Planning, Evaluation, and Communications (SPEC)

Functional Area: Communication and Outreach; Program Evaluation and Analysis; Program Strategic Planning; Science Policy; Website Content

Programs: Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet); Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans (MoTrPAC); Transformative High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy (CryoEM)

Dr. Veronica Taylor joined the Office of Strategic Coordination in July of 2020. Prior to joining the Common Fund, Dr. Taylor was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow within the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Taylor received BA degrees in chemistry and biochemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College, and she received a Ph.D. in Biophysics from University of Michigan for work focusing on structural biology and signal transduction pathways in cardiovascular disease. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Michigan, studying small-molecule modulation of opioid receptors.

Team: Re-Engineering the Biomedical Workforce (RRE)

Functional Area: Program Management

Programs: Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS); Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity

Dr. (Commander) Nadra Tyus joined the Office of Strategic Coordination as a Program Leader with the Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity program. Previously, CDR Tyus was a Program Director at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Her role focused on promoting research to understand the various domains of influence and biopsychosocial factors contributing to health disparities in the areas of population health, behavioral health and well-being. She provides her 15-year expertise to this Program in the areas of implementation science, evidence-based behavioral health and substance-use interventions, community-based participatory research (CBPR), program evaluation, and health innovation. CDR Tyus earned her Dr.P.H. in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, an M.P.H. from the Medical University of Ohio, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Ohio University. Her postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute focused on addressing health disparities using CBPR.

Team: Division of Other Transactions Management (DOTM)

Functional Area: Other Transactions

Programs: Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV), "ACTIV Public-Private Partnership," administrated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Common Fund Data Ecosystem(CFDE); Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS)

Esther Young serves as an Other Transactions Agreement Specialist Team Lead in the Office of the Strategic Coordination (OSC) where she manages a diverse portfolio of other transactions (OT) awards. Her experience includes project management and financial administration of private and federal awards and contracts. During her tenure at NIH, Esther has also held grants management positions at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Young worked for prominent academic and non-profit institutions in Florida. She possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and holds a Level III NIH Grants Management Officer (GMO) certificate.